Matthew Lloyd uneasy about Essendon future after coach Brad Scott's 'strange' rebuild comment
A defiant Essendon coach Brad Scott insists that the club is heading in the right direction, despite having won one of their last 24 games.
Club great Matthew Lloyd however, isn't so certain.
The Bombers sit 17th on the ladder and were belted by Fremantle in front of just 25,000 fans at the MCG on Sunday.
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Essendon coach Brad Scott fumes. Getty
It painted a grim picture for a club that has tasted victory only once in the last 12 months.
Scott however maintains that the club is in the middle of a rebuild and has attacked the draft hard to re-shape its list.
He has urged Essendon fans to trust the process and stick with them.
"Everyone has been part of that strategy and plan .... our president and CEO were on the board when the strategy was put together," Scott told Fox Footy on Monday night.
"My job is to lead this strategy through and I just do my job. I don't worry too much about what might happen in the future.
"We made a very, very conscious decision at the end of 2023 that we needed to reset our list. We went to the draft ... it's crystal clear what we did at the end of 2023," he said.
"We also made some changes to the older players to our list. To the point where we won't have a player retire, at least voluntarily, for the next two or three years at least.
"I think it takes a special kind of lunatic to lead this sort of thing. If you weren't focused on the club's future and it was just about you and your position, you'd have a very different strategy.
"You'd go and get as many experienced and high-quality played as you could for the short term. We didn't do that.
"I fully endorse that strategy and support it. I'm tasked with the responsibility of leading it and I intend to see it through."
Essendon players leave a mostly empty MCG after losing to Freo. Getty
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Scott admits he can understand the frustration and impatience of fans, but says he can't change the recent history of the club.
"There's nothing I can do about the previous 25 years. What I cam do is help set that strategy and lead that strategy from the end of 2023 through," he said.
"The supporters can get really excited watching Sullivan Robey, Jacob Farrow, Dyson Sharp, Isaac Kako, Nate Caddy and Archie Roberts.
"They're the guys we brought in the last couple of years and they're the guys who are going to help lead us into our future. We could've adopted a very different strategy.
"It's certainly no disrespect, but if you go back to the last 12 years at Essendon, maybe it's because we're a big club, maybe it's because the club felt we had to be really bold and aggressive and bounce out of the supplements saga.
"But we've done it repeatedly; we've traded away picks, we've bought in players from other clubs and we haven't gone to the draft on a consistent basis.
"That's what we decided to do at the end of 2023 and that's what our supporters can hang their hat on. And they can hang their hat on those draftees and the players they're going to be now and in the future."
Essendon coach Brad Scott. AFL Photos via Getty Images
Essendon plays Richmond, West Coast and Carlton across the next three weeks and could enter all three as favourites against fellow bottom four brethren.
Scott said the club would remain on the same path regardless of the results.
That comment frustrated Lloyd, who feels for fans who have seen no success in recent years.
"His last comment was strange, saying whether you win or you don't you're still on the same path anyway, but I was there sitting in the crowd yesterday and the members just want to see some wins, they want to see some hope," Lloyd told Nine's Footy Classified.
"You can't always think that it's just going to turn for you just because you've got a few good young players. I think Melbourne and North Melbourne's young players are pretty good too or Richmond once they get their players back. It's not as if Essendon's are better than everyone else's.
"At some stage you've got to start winning. He said (the rebuild) started at the end of 2023. We're now going to come to the end of 2026. What is he saying is going to happen in 2027?"
When asked if he felt Scott was on thin ice as coach, Lloyd said the win-loss ratio has to matter.
"I don't care who you are. If you win one or two games in the span of 40 weeks, questions have to be asked," Lloyd said.
"He has stripped the list back and they play the kids, but I haven't seen a great game-plan this year. Defensively, I don't see anything with a strong backbone."
Matthew Lloyd presents Elijah Tsatas with his Essendon jumper. AFL Photos via Getty Images
Hawthorn champion Luke Hodge however has the opposite view, hoping Essendon does back Scott to complete the rebuild and avoids taking shortcuts.
"You could see last night that Brad Scott is committed to the football club. He's committed to the strategy they committed to a couple of years ago," Hodge told SEN on Tuesday.
"He's not going to aim for short term wins. He wants to build this football club so they have sustained success.
"That is going to come with pain. They are at the bottom now.
"They've had 20 years of trying to break through and have failed every time. Things need to change. They need to stick to the vision and stick to the goal and not let wins and losses (dictate things), I know that sounds silly, but sometimes building the right culture, having standards, that will bring the wins in time."
